This invention relates to a spinning machine, in particular to a machine for home spinning of wool and other fibres. The discussion and description of the invention will refer to wool, but the changes that are needed to apply the invention to other fibres, natural and synthetic, are obvious to those skilled in the art.
The invention relates to a machine which combines the key operations of carding raw greasy wool as well as scoured wool, wool tops and slivers, and subsequently spinning the resultant band of carded or combed wool into yarn. In particular this invention relates to a device suitable for use in the home or in cottage type industry in developing countries for the purpose of conveniently and quickly processing wool fibres into yarn of the type known as home or hand-spun yarn which is currently being sold at a premium in world markets through being said to have been spun in natural wool grease.
To prepare raw wool for use in weaving, there are two principal steps. Firstly the individual strands are separated and laid approximately parallel to each other in a band. This can variously be called carding, combing or drawing out, and the result is sliver. Secondly, the band is twisted (spun) into a yarn, which, unlike the band from which it is formed, has a considerable tensile strength.
Wool fibres growing on the back of sheep are intimately associated with an animal fat known variously as lanolin, lanum, hydrous wool fat and by other names. This substance, consisting chiefly of cholesterol and isocholesterol esters of the higher fatty acids, imparts important water shedding as well as thermal insulating and dirt resistant properties to raw fleece wool. The unctuous and sticky nature of wool fat results in clogging and inefficiency in machines currently used for commercially carding wool so that normal practice requires raw wool to be scoured and washed prior to carding, and to be subsequently re-oiled as sliver in order to be spun. Normal commercial practice in large scale spinning therefore requires two additional operations, scouring and re-oiling, not necessary if wool fibres could be carded in the natural wool fat. In addition the removal of the wool fat results in the loss of some water shedding, thermal insulating and dirt repelling properties in the finished yarn. For carding in conjunction with traditional wheel spinning, considerable skill is needed, if a steady and regulated amount of sliver is continuously to be fed to the spinning head. In the absence of sufficient skill, the yarn produced is uneven.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a spinning machine which will go some way to overcoming the aforementioned difficulties in handling unscoured or unwashed wool both for home and commercial use, as well as effecting improvements in overcoming the aforementioned difficulties in small scale spinning, or will at least provide the public with a useful choice.